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Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades: Barrick Gold, Blackstone, Chesapeake Energy, Dollar Tree, Intel, Qualcomm, Sirius XM, TI, Vale and More

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Stocks have hit all-time highs, and Monday’s losses were followed with what looked to be a positive open on Tuesday for the major equity indexes. The markets are dealing with trade tariffs and with the Federal Reserve meeting this week. Many investors also have seen lower upside from buying on market pullbacks than in prior years. Now the investing community has to consider how to position their investments for the rest of 2018 and as 2019 approaches.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week to find new ideas for investors and traders alike. Some analyst reports cover stocks to buy, but some reports cover stocks to sell or to avoid.

Additional commentary has been added on most of the daily analyst reports, along with trading history. The consensus analyst price targets and other valuation metrics are from the Thomson Reuters sell-side research service.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Tuesday, September 24, 2018.

Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $14 price target at Citigroup. Shares closed up 5.4% at $11.04 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $9.53 to $16.84 and with a consensus target price of $14.04.

BJ’s Wholesale (NYSE: BJ) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $38 price target at a firm called Northcoast. The stock closed down 2.4% at $28.46 on Monday. The 52-week range is $20.56 to $32.92, and the consensus target price is $28.83.

Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) was reiterated as Buy and the price target was raised to $46 from $39 (versus a $39.69 prior close) at Argus. Citigroup reiterated it as Buy and raised its price target to $47 from $43.

Cadence Bancorporation (NYSE: CADE) was started as Equal Weight and assigned a $30 price target (versus a $26.54 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Canadian National Railway (NYSE: CNI) was raised to Buy from Neutral with a $100 price target at Citigroup. Shares closed down 2.1% at $86.81 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $70.59 to $90.57. The consensus target price is $91.44.

Central Garden & Pet Co. (NASDAQ: CENT) was started as Neutral at JPMorgan. The stock closed down 2.5% at $38.28 on Monday. The 52-week range is $34.81 to $45.02, and the consensus target price is $47.33.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey. The stock closed up 5.2% at $4.67 on Monday, with a 52-week trading range of $2.53 to $5.60 and a consensus target price of $4.50.

Clean Harbors Inc. (NYSE: CLH) was reiterated as Buy and the target price was raised to $80 from $70 (versus a $69.91 close) at Stifel.

Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) was raised to Buy from Hold with a $175 price target (versus a $149.95 close) at Argus.

Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was started as Neutral with a $92 price target at Buckingham. Shares closed up less than 1% at $85.63 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $79.17 to $116.65 and with a consensus target price of $97.46.

Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) was raised to Buy from Neutral at B. Riley. The stock closed up 0.5% at $67.62 on Monday. It has a 52-week range of $49.69 to $75.02 and a consensus target price of $67.63.

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Huntsman Corp. (NYSE: HUN) was started as Equal Weight and assigned a $30 price target (versus a $28.21 close) at Morgan Stanley.

Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) was downgraded to Underperform from In-Line at Raymond James. Intel closed up 0.5% at $46.91 on Monday. The 52-week range is $37.00 to $57.60. The consensus target price is $55.81.

Landec Corp. (NASDAQ: LDC) was started as Buy and assigned an $18 price target (versus a $13.45 close) at Roth Capital.

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) was started as Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets, and Raymond James downgraded it to Market Perform from Outperform. Shares closed up 0.5% at $82.30 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $78.33 to $104.20. The consensus target price was last seen at $113.31.

Nightstar Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: NITE) was reiterated as Outperform and the price target was raised to $36 from $31 (versus a $25.50 close) at Wedbush Securities.

ON Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: ON) was started as Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets, and Raymond James lowered its rating to Market Perform from Outperform. The most recent close at $19.10 compares with a 52-week range of $17.60 to $27.10 and a consensus target price of $27.34.

Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) was started as Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets as well. Shares closed up 0.2% at $73.58 on Monday. The consensus target price is $71.86, and the 52-week range is $48.56 to $76.50.

Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) shares were down 10.3% at $6.26 on Monday after it announced the takeover of Pandora. Credit Suisse downgraded Sirius XM to Neutral from Outperform with a $7.50 price target.

Tenaris S.A. (NYSE: TS) was raised to Buy from Underperform with a $40 price objective at Merrill Lynch. It closed up 0.9% at $32.99 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $25.91 to $40.64. The consensus target price is $40.48.

Texas Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: TXN) was started as Sector Weight at KeyBanc Capital Markets. The stock closed down 0.2% at $109.80 on Monday, in a 52-week range of $87.45 to $120.75. The consensus target price is $124.70.

Vale S.A. (NYSE: VALE) was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Macquarie. Shares closed down 1.8% at $14.79 on Monday. The 52-week range is $9.53 to $15.24. The consensus target price is $15.84.

Wendy’s Co. (NASDAQ: WEN) was started with a Buy rating and assigned a $20 price target (versus a $17.32 close) at BTIG.

Monday’s top analyst calls were in shares of Abbott Laboratories, Avon Products, Caesars Entertainment, Comcast, Rowan, UnitedHealth, Vonage and many more.

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